Once Upon a Dream
by silver-moon-sapphire-sky
Summary: The Prince of Egypt and the daugher of a Nomarch are linked together by their dreams. Both are convinced that their dream lover isn't real, until they meet. Teana x Atemu oneshot. Inspired by Disney Song.


**Hi there folks!!! **

**I'm back, I've never tried a song-fic before, but I got inspired by Disney's Once Upon A Dream- so I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or the Song 'Once Upon a Dream'.**

**Oh, and I'm using the name 'Tèana' instead of 'Tèa' in this fic, because I'm so used to it being substituted in Ancient Egyptian fics, that it works better for me. The name 'Jou' is a substitute for 'Joey' for the same reason.**

* * *

The young man walked through the palace gardens; he walked impatiently, already knowing where he would end up. He wanted to get there quickly; he wanted to meet her again. 

She was standing beside the pond, staring into the murky depths of the lily pad strewn surface. She looked up as he neared though, perhaps through instinct, because his feet made no noise on the soft grass. He had no care as to why she looked up though, because he was completely lost in her eyes.

They were blue, like the deepest sky, much brighter than any sapphire he owned, and they had him completely mesmerised. The rest of her was just as entrancing as her eyes. A full mouth, lightly tanned skin, silky dark hair, which was cut to her chin, and a body that would make Hathor herself envious.

To be truthful, he thought that this lady the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He'd thought it the first time he saw her, and now, many meetings later, his opinion hadn't changed; instead his enchantment with her had grown.

"It seems that we meet again," she said with a shy smile, "have you had a hard day?"

"My life is always difficult," he replied with a confident smile, "and you?"

"It is just as it always is," she said playfully, "but you should take better care of yourself, and stop worrying so much," she said seriously, "doubting yourself is not a becoming feature in a man, especially one who seems to be so important," she added more lightly, with an impish smile.

"You always say that," he complained, smiling as well.

"I'm always right," she said tossing her hair with a laugh.

He found that he was suddenly a lot closer to her, with little memory of how exactly he'd gotten this close to her. That was irrelevant though, because all he cared about was getting as close to her as possible.

"Sometimes, no matter what I do, or how hard I try, it seems that I shall never bring about the future I dream of," Atemu mused

"You dream of bringing equality to this land," she said dreamily, "you truly are a kind hearted person," she whispered.

His hand reached out, and like so many times before, he touched her cheek, and her hand reached out to touch face in response. Her skin was so soft against his, and he sighed at the sensation.

"I am not so great," he whispered.

"Yes you are, and I know that you will succeed," she said, running her hand down his face lightly.

They moved closer to each other, his arms loosely held her, bringing her steadily closer. Her body was directly in front of him, and her hands were pressed against his chest. He leaned down, wanting to kiss her, and she moved in towards him as well. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin as she lifted her mouth to meet his…

* * *

The heir to the throne of Egypt woke up in his bed and sat up, breathing hard. He mentally screamed curses. Atemu had been having this delicious and very unsatisfying dream for weeks now. 

It always started and ended the same way, much to his frustration. The conversation was always different, based on their apparently budding relationship, but he always tried to kiss her, and he always woke up before he got to kiss her.

He lay back on the soft silk sheets and sighed, 'there's no chance she could be anything but a dream,' he mourned.

He lay down and tried to slip back into the dream again, desperate to find the girl.

It was stupid really.

Who had ever heard of being in love with a dream?

* * *

Tèana wished she could return to her dream, but it seemed that she had absolutely no control over this one. She'd been dreaming of the violet eyed man for weeks now. 

A very handsome violet eyed man of her age to be exact. He was a couple of inches taller than her, with a muscular body, and exotic hair; black and scarlet spikes, with blond streaks around a very striking face.

The beautiful young man in her dreams was far too good to be true. He was kind, gentle and loving, as well as extremely handsome, he listened to her and was interested in talking to her, he was easy to talk to. It couldn't happen, not in the real world. That was why he was a dream. Too bad she'd fallen in love with him.

Being in love with someone she'd only met in her dreams, who wasn't even real, was silly. She felt pathetic, but she couldn't stop herself feeling this way.

She lay back on her pillow trying to get rid of the longings her dream had brought about.

It was useless, he was just a dream.

* * *

Prince Atemu was officially annoyed. It was bad enough that he had his fan club always chasing him in utter adoration, but for his parents to throw a feast to try so he could find a bride? It was idiocy in the making. 

He didn't even want a wife, and to be honest... who would?

Any woman who wanted to marry him was only interested in his wealth and power, and his looks. They didn't really care about him though, not the real him. Aside from his family, the priests and a few close friends he had no one who saw anything except Prince Atemu. He wanted a wife who would see just Atemu.

The only women he knew, apart from his mother, who could see past the title were his cousin Mai, Rebecca, Kisara, Mana and Jou's little sister, Serenity. They already had other men in their lives, so he really had no woman who was special to him who saw him clearly.

Except his dream girl, but she wasn't real.

* * *

Tèana knelt on the floor. She stared at the pale stone floor, not daring to look up as the pharaoh and his family walked past the crowd in the throne room to their thrones. She waited until the pharaoh gave everyone permission to rise, thereby opening the feast. Her father rose to his feet before she rose to hers. 

She automatically looked over at the dais. She was curious to know what the pharaoh, queen and princes would look like. Her father had seen them before, but this was the first time she would ever see them, and probably the last. Tèana had little chance of marrying either prince. Her father was very low down in the scale of wealth and importance.

She froze and stopped breathing when she saw a familiar figure on the dais. Could it be that he wasn't a dream? Could he truly be real?

_I know you  
I walked with you once upon a dream_.

She looked him over critically. He couldn't be the man in her dreams. She must have seen him somewhere before- although she had no idea where, and romanticised him. That had to be it…

But at this distance, even when she was being her most critical, she had to admit he looked perfect, and he looked exactly like her dream lover; from the violet eyes to the exotic hair and the perfectly shaped and tanned body.

_I know you  
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam_

"And now, your highness, in honour of your birthday may we present the lord of the first Nome in the South, Zehuti, and his family," Lord Simon, the Pharaoh's most trusted adviser announced.

The Southern lord and his family walked calmly up to the dais, presenting their presents, while the daughters all made eyes at the prince. Tèana was embarrassed on their behalf; no wonder so few men took women seriously. When a woman behaved like that, who could even believe that she had a mind, let alone intelligence?

The prince looked completely bored; the poor man, being surrounded by that all day. How tired of flirting women would you get?

And she even thought that she had a chance with him? How arrogant and presumptuous could she get?

_Yet, I know it's true  
that visions are seldom all they seem  
_

Perhaps a sickness had taken hold of her, because staring at him seemed to create a physical ache within her chest. One that grew stronger which each second that passed; if only… but he was a prince, and he would be pharaoh.

As for her, it wouldn't matter how pretty she was said to be, or how intelligent or sensible she seemed to others. Her father was notoriously the poorest of the Nomarchs, and without a rich dowry, she had nothing to offer a young man, except charms that would fade with age and a large debt that her family desperately needed to settle.

Love was not said to be practical, and it was not something she could afford to have. Especially in terms of feelings for a man thousands of times her superior, who could never look at her with anything except disdain.

_But if I know you, I know what you'll do  
_

The prince in front of her was a lot more serious. The man in her dreams was always smiling. This man didn't frown, but, he definitely wasn't happy, he was distinctly bored.

She wasn't stupid; she knew why her father had brought her to this gathering. Her marriage would be a trade. She was his only child and she was now old enough to make a match. Here was a good opportunity to market her. He wasn't looking at the prince though; he was looking at the sons of other Nomarchs, someone on their level.

If only dreams were not deluded fantasies. If only, she really was loved by the kind man her dreams made the prince out to be. Not that he didn't seem kind; but the dais he was seated on seemed to be thousands of meters above her head.

_You'll love me at once  
the way you did once upon a dream_

She watched the prince, and was surprised when she focused on the lords giving him presents that the Northern lords were already beginning. Had more than twenty already presented their gifts while she stood in a stupor, gazing on the prince with lovelorn eyes just like every other girl within a twenty meter radius of the throne?

She forced herself to stop staring with effort, too much effort.

Was she truly such a fool to give her heart to a man she didn't know? She had to remind herself repeatedly that it was the dream she loved, not the man. Wasn't it?

_But if I know you, I know what you'll do  
_

He was a beautiful man though, and something, a faint twinkle in his eye after his younger brother whispered something made her heart ache even more. He was so similar to the dream, too similar.

Her father's hand on her shoulder, steering her towards the dais brought her back to reality. She smiled weakly at him, hoping for this to be over, quickly.

It was their turn, and she blindly followed her father, trying not to look up, it would be too painful. Instead she looked down at the package in her arms, which had put them further into debt… much further. She took a deep breath and knelt just below the stone steps that led up to the thrones of the royal family as Simon announced her father's name and title.

_You'll love me at once  
the way you did once upon a dream_

Atemu had not particularly been enjoying the celebrations. His gifts, as usual were in bad taste, lavish and over the top in the extreme, he'd give them away or sell them or something. He had far too many things; he hardly knew what he actually had; only the servants did.

He barely paid any attention to the next lord, only looking when his attention was bid to accept the gift that he was being offered. That was when he saw her and the room spun.

She wasn't looking up, or trying to flirt with him, and although he was certain that she wanted to meet his gaze, she didn't. He kept looking at her. She was obviously unaware that he was staring at her so blatantly, but everyone else was aware of the violet gaze and whom he regarded so intently.

_I know you  
I walked with you once upon a dream.  
_

"What's your name?" Atemu asked softly, unaware of the ripple his response to this girl was creating in the court.

She looked up briefly at that, and her eyes widened. She was even more beautiful in reality than she'd been in his dreams. She dropped her gaze, blushing faintly.

"My name is Tèana, prince," she murmured softly in response to his question, still looking at the ground. Her voice was warm, just like it had been in his dreams.

Atemu resisted the urge to smile; it was hard to remember that he was being watched. It was hard to remember anything, except the colour of her eyes and the sound of her voice.

_I know you  
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam  
_

The pair moved through the rest of the ritual, giving and receiving the present without creating another stir. No one else noticed the way his fingers brushed the back of her hand as she passed him the gift.

But no one was oblivious to the fact that all royal attention was now on the girl. Even when she and her father left the dais and others stepped forward to give their presents to the prince.

Tèana moved through the room, completely aware of the weight of violet eyes on her every move. She didn't dare look up at the dais though. She was still trying to understand what exactly had happened, and what it meant.

She wasn't the only one who was trying to understand the incident. The Prince of Egypt spent the rest of the banquet contemplating her with serious eyes. He didn't look away from her once, and was disturbed by the fact that she didn't look at him once.

_And I know it's true  
that visions are seldom all they seem  
_

In dreams when a person felt that they were in control everything was so certain, it was so easy. But real life was more uncertain, and both of the pair felt this acutely at this moment.

The prince's parents however knew exactly where these sorts of looks led, and were determined to resolve this issue before the day was out. So it was, to his great astonishment, that Tèana's father was called to a private audience with the Pharaoh and Queen of Egypt.

Tèana looked up at the dais questioningly, and the minute their eyes met, any doubts disappeared. She instantly understood when the prince stood up and left the table that she was to follow. The guards and everyone else did too, moving out of her way accordingly.

She found him in the same place that they had met so often in their dreams; a garden, the palace garden, in front of a pond. He looked up as she approached, and neither of them said anything as she walked silently to stand by his side.

_But if I know you, I know what you'll do…  
_

They stood there, regarding each other with an open familiarity that spoke of an intimacy and an affection that should not have been possible.

"You are," Tèana faltered under the full attention of those eyes, "real? Aren't you…" she asked, trailing off. Uncertain of what she meant.

He looked at her, and the sudden smile he gave her was truly beautiful, "I'm as real as you are," he said. He held out a hand, and she placed her own in it.

Their fingers entwined, and it seemed completely natural for her to move even closer to him. She was suddenly standing right in front of him, closer than they'd ever been in their dreams.

"You're not going to disappear again are you?" he asked her tentatively, stroking her cheek, just as he'd done many times in their dream.

_You'll love me at once…  
_

She smiled and leaned up to look him in the eye, "just as long as you don't disappear on me," she whispered.

He surprised them both by moving just an inch forward and pressing his mouth against hers passionately. For a second she stood in his arms, but she quickly responded to his kiss, moulding herself to him.

The kiss went on for what felt like forever, but it came to an end minutes later with the pair breathing hard in each others arms. It seemed that even love-struck fools need to breathe at regular intervals.

Tèana was resting her head on Atemu's shoulder, "this feels like a dream," she admitted shyly.

"Only, there'll be no waking up from this one," Atemu agreed, his fingers running through her hair, as he leaned down and kissed her again.

_The way you did once upon a dream…_

**The End.**

**

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I hope you liked it, please ****R & R****- I can't get any better without constructive criticism, and I won't be encouraged to write more without any feedback anyway. Did the song work?**

**Oh, and Author's note- Hathor- is the Egyptian Goddess of Love and Beauty.**

**Zehuti was an OC I made up, the name is actually one of the many which belonged to Set- Egyptian God of Chaos.**

**And a 'Nomarch' was the Greek term for the Lords of the Territories in Egypt, called Nomes by the Greeks, and 'Sepat' by the Ptolemaic Egyptians; there were twenty-two different territories in the South (Upper Egypt) and another twenty in the North (Lower Egypt). I'm more familiar with the Greek translation, and 'Nomarch' was easier to use than 'lord of the Sepat'. These territories are similar to the Greek polis system- a city state.**

**Oh, and I don't plan for any sequels or continuations, it is a oneshot and will stay that way, so please don't ask.**


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